Known for Visual Effects
Born
June 19, 1958
Died
May 13, 2016 (age 57)
Birthplace
Aichi, Japan
Filmography
30 films, 3 shows


The Story of Yanagawa Waterways
2026 · 2h 47m
country: Japan
A partially-animated documentary about the preservation and restoration of the canal system in Yanagawa, Fukuoka


Tomcat's Big Adventure
2014 · 1h 22m
country: Japan
Unreleased animated feature film directed by Ryutaro Nakamura (Serial Experiments Lain). The story is adapted from the children's book "Adventures of Tom the Small Cat" by Masumi Lino and Yumiko Imai.


When Marnie Was There
2014 · 1h 43m
country: Japan
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.


The Wind Rises
2013 · 2h 6m
country: Japan
A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane.


From Up on Poppy Hill
2011 · 1h 31m
country: Japan
Yokohama, 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics—and the mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off the shackles of a troubled past. Against this backdrop of hope and change, a friendship begins to blossom between high school students Umi and Shun—but a buried secret from their past emerges to cast a shadow on the future and pull them apart.


Arrietty
2010 · 1h 35m
country: France
14-year-old Arrietty and the rest of the Clock family live in peaceful anonymity as they make their own home from items "borrowed" from the house's human inhabitants. However, life changes for the Clocks when a human boy discovers Arrietty.


Ponyo
2008 · 1h 40m
country: Japan
When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.


Howl's Moving Castle
2004 · 1h 59m
country: Japan
Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.


Spirited Away
2001 · 2h 5m
country: Japan
A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.


My Neighbors the Yamadas
1999 · 1h 44m
country: Japan
The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.


Whisper of the Heart
1995 · 1h 51m
country: Japan
Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: "Seiji Amasawa."


Pom Poko
1994 · 1h 59m
country: Japan
The Raccoons of the Tama Hills are being forced from their homes by the rapid development of houses and shopping malls. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. The Raccoons practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are even able to appear as humans in hilarious circumstances.


Porco Rosso
1992 · 1h 33m
country: Japan
In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.


Only Yesterday
1991 · 1h 59m
country: Japan
In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko contemplates the arc of her life, and wonders if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self.


Like the Clouds, Like the Wind
1990 · 1h 19m
country: Japan
Ginga is a simple—yet energetic—country girl, living with her father far from the capital city of the empire in ancient China. When she learns of an opportunity to become a concubine of the young new Emperor, with the possibility of becoming his head wife in charge of all of the other wives, Ginga convinces her father to let her go. Once there, she meets all of the other potential head wives, each of whom have various reasons for being there. All of them must learn to read and write, learn the history of their country, and learn the proper mannerisms for being in the royal court. Ginga's enthusiasm tends to get her in trouble more often than not, but it works to her advantage when they learn that the former emperor's head wife, who is not the mother of the current emperor, is plotting treachery against the new emperor, and that a rebellion is headed toward the capital.


MAROKO
1990 · 1h 30m
country: Japan
Theatrical anime movie created from the OVA 'Gosenzosama Banbanzai', written and directed by Mamoru Oshii.


Kiki's Delivery Service
1989 · 1h 43m
country: Japan
A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.


Akira
1988 · 2h 4m
country: Japan
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.


My Neighbor Totoro
1988 · 1h 26m
country: Japan
Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.


Devilman - Volume 1: The Birth
1987 · 51m
country: Japan
Akira Fudo is just a normal kid in Tokyo, until an old friend of his, Ryo, shows up and turns his world upside down. An upcoming war of demons on humanity is waiting in the wings, however, the only way for a human to fight a demon is with their power. To save the world, Akira and Ryo risk a dangerous ceremony in an attempt to create humanity's only hope: the powerful Devilman.


Royal Space Force - The Wings of Honneamise
1987 · 2h 1m
country: Japan
On a future Earth, war between the Kingdom of Honneamise and its rival, The Republic, is inevitable. As evolving technology creates new ways to wage war, a small group seeks to propel mankind into space in their world’s first spaceflight program. For astronaut candidate Shirotsugh Lhadatt, it’s a personal odyssey as he grows from an aimless young man into a leader willing to put everything on the line in order to move the human race forward and away from the brink of Armageddon.


Castle in the Sky
1986 · 2h 5m
country: Japan
A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.


Angel's Egg
1985 · 1h 11m
country: Japan
In the ruins of a strange city, a young girl takes care of a large egg she holds carefully in her arms. She bonds with a boy who is searching for a bird he saw in a dream.


Night on the Galactic Railroad
1985 · 1h 48m
country: Japan
Giovanni currently lives a dreary life of near non-stop work. At school, his peers ridicule him incessantly, and his employer at work is distant and cold. As his isolation from society becomes unbearable, he suddenly finds himself on a train heading far away from his miserable home. Accompanied by Campanella, an acquaintance from school, Giovanni embarks on a journey that will define the rest of his life.


Sherlock Hound: The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle / Treasure Under the Sea
1984 · 46m
country: Unknown
The famous blue ruby is stolen in such an elaborate way, that only one villain can be suspected - Professor Moriarty. It is up to Sherlock Holmes to return it and, in the process, to turn a young pick-pocket on the right path. In the second part, Moriarty sets his sights even higher, stealing a top-secret submarine from the Navy. What does he need it for? Holmes is once again on the trail.


Warriors of the Wind
1984 · 1h 35m
country: Japan
After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.